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On July 16, 2012, the Commission for Old Belief’s Parishes and Cooperation with the Old Belief met at the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations. The meeting was attended by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Commission, Metropolitan George of Nizhniy Novgorod and Arzamas, Archbishop Gregory of Mozhaisk, Archbishop Jonathan of Tulchin and Bratslav, Bishop Theophilact of Dmitrov, Bishop Stephan of Gomel and Zhlobin, Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, DECR vice-chairman, Archimandrite Dionysy (Shishigin), dean of the Bogoyavlensky District in Moscow, and Father Ioann Mirolubov, secretary of the Commission.
Metropolitan Hilarion made a report on the work carried out by the Commission, current problems in the service of the Old Belief’s parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the present situation in relations with the Old Believers’ Communities. Several proposals were made for the further work of the Commission. It was also noted that its activity was directly promoted by the development of the Patriarch Canter for Old Russian Liturgical Tradition established in 2009. The Commission also considered reports coming to it from dioceses as we wishes as to the program of the celebrations to mark the centenary of the First All-Russia’s Common-Faith Congress (1912).
The Commission adopted a report about its work to be submitted to the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.